3 Arts Kate Romain 7 Film Willa Hope + Louis Pigeon-owen 10 Fashion Emily Claridge + Elley West 15 Creative Writing Hugo Douglas-Deane 19 Gaming Kirsty McAlpine 23 Television Denise Koblenz 27 Music Alice Mortimer + Lois Young Deputy Editor - Melissa Haggar Art And design assistant - Emily Mildren
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Cover photo by Hugo Douglas-Deame
Concrete.venue@uea.ac.uk
EDITORIAL Editors-in-chief Dougie dodds + niamh Jones ell, here we all are again, the second issue already! The keen eyed ones among you may have noticed a few differences in the design. This is simply due to our inability to sit still and leave things be… obsessive some might say. But the result we believe looks good, and we’ll try our hardest not to change it again for next issue (no promises). We also apologise for the hair greying error with the crossword last issue, where the numbers didn’t print. Only the brave should attempt. Dougie
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FEATURE Yee Ha! Saddle on up and go on a journey to the Wild, Wild West in this week’s rootin’ tootin’ feature. Included is this week’s lowdown on The Magnificent Seven and a sharp shooting feature on the best - and the worst - movie remakes.
ands up everyone who has free time! What, nobody? Yeah I feel you. I have a summative due next Tuesday and let me tell you, all the soft jazz and scented candles in the world can’t get this girl to de-stress. Having said that, I wrote a little piece in Gaming about losing my Pokémon virginity this week and yes, I’m plugging my own work. Oh and thanks to everyone who signed up to write and illustrate for VENUE, you guys are all lovely and I can’t wait to see what you come up with. If you need anything, you can pop up to the media office next week and I’ll be in there, wrapped in a blanket and sipping tea, reading all your work and loving life. We also have a post-publication pub session on Tuesday 11th October at 7ish, come along and celebrate/cry with us. Niamh
H
C. writing ‘You are here, and I am home’ UEA is the home of creative writing, so it seems fitting that this issue’s theme centers around the concept of ‘home’.
t’s our second issue this term and you know what that means: more coffee, more ink and more fantastic articles from our amazing team of writers. I’m Melissa, by the way, the sort of less cool version of Niamh and Dougie. We’ve got some top-notch designs and illustrations this issue (lucky you!) and a gorgeous double page spread from our Arts editor Kate (honestly, not biased), so plenty for you to enjoy on this superb week 3. We’re always on the look-out for new writers and ideas, so if you like what you see and want to get involved, contact us on any of the email addresses – we’re a friendly, if slightly eccentric bunch. Melissa
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Venue
Music ‘Here we are now, in containers I feel stupid and contagious’ Check out the extended music section this issue to find our favoroute missheard song lyrics as well as an exclusive Desert Island Disc interview with James Hatcher from Honne.
Concrete.venue@uea.ac.uk
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ARTS 03 Ilona brinton
Concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk
I want to be an artist
It takes great courage to say “I’m an artist”. At least I find it hard. The true artist is Gauguin, Picasso, Andy Warhol... Or the guy next door who wears paint-stained clothes and seems to constantly be making something new and creative. But when it comes to ourselves, we may see the little bit of painting, sketching or craft-making that we do, or the fact that we don’t do anything ‘artistic’ at all, not enough to make us an artist. Real artists do certain things (smoke wed, go to hip cecafes) and live a certain lifestyle (lounge around a lot of the time, then spend intense times being amazingly creative). If you don’t fit, you can’t call yourself an artist. But ask yourself again; ‘What do artists actually do?’.
The image of the ‘artist’ or the ‘artistic person’ may be clouding what it is that actually makes them an artist – which isn’t the clothes or the fact that they smoke weed. What is common to all these people is that they create Artists are creators.
You may think you’re not very creative, so again, no way you’re an artist. But creativity isn’t something that you either have or you don’t. Creativity needs space to flourish, and this is something we have very little for nowadays. Space in the sense of a few hours of boredom in which you don’t play on your phone or check facebook, where you can let your mind wander the limitless bounds
of its imagination. But space also in the sense of being given the freedom in your work to explore new ideas and ways of doing things. Writing an essay is essentially an act of creativity. Yet our potential for being creative, for being an artist in this process, is squashed by the pages and pages of guidelines and marking criteria that we need to follow in order to get a good mark. Humans are naturally artistic. Our lives are full of moments when we transform reality, when we explore and sculpt our lives in unique ways and create new realities and new things for ourselves and others. This is all creativity, an artist’s work. Today though, it is harder to find these moments as we are not given the time and space. At school we are taught to just give the responses that
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the teacher is looking for, learn what you need to know for the exam, and no more. No space for exploration or creativity, no time. Just follow instructions. At uni it’s no better. Deep down everyone wants to get a good grade, and if the lecturers tell you exactly what you need to do to get one, then why try anything else? Why explore? So when you are seeking to bring more art and creativity into your life, to become an ‘artist’, perhaps a good start is to free yourself from the worry of following the endless rules and instructions for life and work that exist out there (including how you should dress to become more artistic). Give yourself the time and dare to explore. Illustration by Kate Romain
drama soc an insight into one of uea’s biggest and most inclusive society Ilona brinton Drama Soc is one of the largest and friendliest societies on campus, dedicated to providing opportunities for all students to get involved in theatre. Whether that means acting, writing, directing, stage managing, working with lighting design, or any other path into theatre-making, there will be a Drama Soc role for you. Every year, Drama Soc puts on at least six productions, from musicals
to straight plays, spanning the entire history of theatre – with shows last year ranged from Ancient Greece to the 21st century. All shows are staged entirely by students. Workshops are also offered throughout the year, led by visiting companies and creatives, which allow students to engage with a variety of aspects of theatre. Additionally, frequent socials are very popular and perfect for getting to know your
fellow Drama Soc members. This year they will also be running an exciting 21st Century play-reading group to get members engaged with theatre being created in the wider world right now.
If Drama Soc sounds like your idea of a good time, and you want to get involved, it’s easy! You can email ueadramasoc@gmail.com, and Subs are only £5 for the whole year.
Writing is an essential part of Drama Soc, allowing aspiring playwrights to hone their skills throughout the year. Our legendary night of short, student-written plays, Spotlight, is a calendar highlight.
Don’t miss the first show of the year, Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest,’ in the Drama Studio next Thursday, Friday and Saturday (20th-22nd) at 7.30pm. If you’ve paid your subs, tickets are half price!
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Concrete.arts@uea.ac.uk
i chose the arts
ARTS
why i made the decision to study literature, and why i still love it kam ozten My childhood was filled with literature; my dad collected contemporary fiction and my mum would take my brother and I to plays with family friends on weekends and holidays. From a young age I devoured book after book, often getting into trouble at school for reading under the table in maths and science classes. I loved Jacqueline Wilson and listened to cassettes by AA Milne before I went to sleep. Every evening I would sit in bed with my mum and we’d read together. I love literature for the feeling of being completely immersed in a text and invested in the characters and plot. Books are a form of escape that take you into an alternate reality, a different world where everything concerning you is dispelled from your mind. That is why I chose to study English Literature; because reading and studying texts has always been something that has come naturally to me and that I have loved. I am imaginative, and struggled with science based subjects at school. Dropping these after GCSE and focusing on classes that I enjoyed was much more enjoyable and fulfilling. A-level English literature offered more scope for individualism. Now, having finished my first year at UEA, I have realised that the opportunities for research and new or differing opinions
are boundless. Context and analysis also provides a more in depth discovery of a text; I could read T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land for pleasure and enjoy it, but I could also equally enjoy it at a different level through studying it in class. One of the challenges I have found with studying English Literature at degree level is that the contact hours are minimal and, consequently, a vast amount of the course is
independent study. This can be difficult because it demands a lot more motivation and time management. However, this
will hopefully be beneficial in the future, especially if I decide to pursue a career in writing or journalism. Illustration by Lucinda Swain
Beauty and A ballet interpretation of Beauty and the Beast will be visiting Norwich Theatre Royal from October 26th-29th, and promises to deliver a beautifully gothic evening just in time for Halloween; Artistic Director David Nixon OBE, and founder of the show, has promised Norwich audiences an adaptation based on the original story that embraces the darker elements, as well as the lighter ones. With specially designed haute-couture-style costumes, and music including Bizet, Poulenc, and Debussy, Beauty and the Beast promises to be an original and enthralling performance. Dreda Blow, the leading soloist of the performance, sheds some light on what we can expect: Beauty and the Beast premiered in 2011 and toured through to 2012 but this time you are taking on a lead part for the first time. What are you most looking forward to about returning to the show? Beauty and the Beast is a really lovely family ballet and it has got something in it for everybody. It is very touching and heart-warming. As I have been performing more dramatic roles recently like Cathy in Wuthering Heights and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, it is nice to do something a bit lighter as we are getting closer to Christmas. There is still darkness to the story as in all fairy-tales but everybody leaves smiling. It is one of those shows that transports the audience to a lovely, beautiful place for a few hours.
What makes Beauty and the Beast so watchable and accessible? I think fairy-tales work very well as accessible ballets. There is so much magic in Beauty and the Beast. There are sprites, fairies, goblins, and lots of unexpected, little things. There are also a lot of quirky personalities, little magic tricks and a few surprises.
the Beast The sets for Beauty and the Beast were created by Duncan Hayler, who also created them for Cinderella and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. What do they add to the production?
Visuals are so important to this ballet. The Beast is not fluffy or furry. He is almost reptilian with scales like armour on his chest. This is all reflected in the sets so the production is quite beautifully designed in that way. There is also a dramatic contrast between the
darkness of the castle which is the Beast’s home and the early scenes in Beauty’s h o u s e with her
sisters which is very colourful and bright, so the visuals are really vivid and reflect the story really well. Beauty and the Beast is not a typical ballet title. What can people expect? I think that the story lends itself to ballet really well because the Beast has a totally different physicality to Beauty and the duets they do are quite unusual because he is much more contemporary, grounded and animalistic whereas she is very delicate, beautiful and graceful. When Beauty dances with the Prince, the movement you see is very different compared to when she dances with the Beast. If you are into ballet, you will get your ballet fix as there is lots of lovely dancing in it.
Beauty and the Beast will be running at Norwich Theatre Royal from October 26th-29th, with ticket prices starting at £8
Film 07 William may Captain Fantastic is driven by Noam Chomsky’s idea that “If you assume that there is no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume there is an instinct for freedom… then there is a possibility that you can contribute to a better world”. Matt Ross’s debut is warm, colourful and overwhelmingly hopeful. It possesses an honesty in its characters which is rare for a film so thematically and politically ambitious. However, its moments of genuine emotion often feel constrained by a formulaic narrative. Ben (Viggo Mortenson) is a well-meaning patriarch who has raised his children according to his ideals, living an idyllic, but isolated existence in the forests of rural Washington. By day the children hunt and scale
Concrete.film@uea.ac.uk
Captain fantastic mountains and by night they read Dostoevsky and discuss quantum physics and the hypocrisies of western capitalism. They are geniuses, but they are forced into a world which they know nothing about. It is an exploration of a man who is devoted to his children, but like a charismatic cult leader, is blinded by his rejection of society. This pivots around a great performance from Viggo Mortenson, with one being able to feel a genuine connection with his character, and the interactions of the children, which addresses the imperfections of family in a funny and heart-warming fashion reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine. Ultimately, the film excels in many little moments of charmingly honest humanity.
film, which is simply not true. What is fair however, is a criticism of its simple narrative which is not as surprising as it desperately deserves to be. Sure, Captain Fantastic is a flawed film, it may have you cringing at a twee rendition of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’, but it’s just so refreshingly hopeful and, if you let it, you’ll be leaving with a smile on your face.
It has been unfairly dismissed as a purely political
The girl with all the gifts willa hope The Girl With All the Gifts, the latest British zombie film to grace our screens, presents one of the most original tales yet. However, the array of poor acting and a general lack of character or plot development causes this film to tumble into mediocrity. In a world already plagued with a zombie fungus, hybrid children of the disease are in military imprisonment in the hope of producing a cure. After the prison is overrun by the infected, Melanie (newcomer Sennia Nanua)
escapes with her beloved teacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton), a heartless doctor (Glenn Close), along with a few surviving soldiers. On their way to safety they spot the fungus has grown into plants from the brains of the dead, spawning pods that would cause the infection to spread airborne – or, as Glenn Close puts it: “the end of the world”. In zombie films, a fungus that has an actual evolutionary plan seems to be one of the most original plot
devices out there, along with the use of hybrid children. It’s different. Yet, it’s tempting to say that these concepts (based from a book) are the only things going for it. Gemma Arterton’s miserably bland acting offers no addition to the plot, and the lack of direction for Melanie and the other children means that scenes that could’ve been incredible become comparable to a stagecoach class of roaring children. This film was a long way off from being the next 28
Days Later. With beautifully shot scenes, accompanied by haunting music, The Girl With All the Gifts seems planted in the middle of genres. There is not enough horror or gore to salvage it as a zombie film, yet not enough plot to make this a drama. Ingenious concepts were undercut by poor direction and zero character development anywhere. This is a true disappointment for zombie fans.
Concrete.film@uea.ac.uk
bridget jones’ baby
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florence lacey Bridget Jones is back. She’s better, slimmer, richer and slightly less facially expressive. However, this new, independent Jones cannot escape her bumbling, endearing self– of course, we wouldn’t want her to. Bumps will soon emerge along a road that seems all too smooth. The third in the franchise, Bridget Jones’s Baby holds high expectations. Good, and at times naff, humour; awkward yet relatable moments; a little sex, and some healthy competition between men: this formula worked for both prior films, and the third does not disappoint in conforming to its predecessors. Not without its individual merits, firm fans of Bridget and her entourage will be entertained and leave feeling as though a long lost friend has returned and finally found happiness. Bridget being Bridget, the pregnancy introduced by the title is far from simple. Instead, we are met with two potential fathers, good old Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), who
is recently divorced, and Jack Quant (Patrick Dempsey), a millionaire dating app producer. Disappointingly, the sleazy Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) does not make an appearance, leaving Darcy to compete instead with this new, nicer, rival. This plot device is crucial in the development of much of the film’s humour and tension, with Emma Thompson as Bridget’s doctor pulling out sharp, quickwitted lines that would make the sternest of us laugh. She is, in many ways, the star of the show. The mystery of who will be the baby’s father is strung out for the film’s duration, with viewers inevitably rooting for one of the two men and questioning whether Bridget will end up with either of them by the close. Bridget Jones’s Baby is not high-brow, and it would be ignorant to suggest that it is without its faults. Whilst it is commendable that Bridget is presented as independent and not reliant on either man,
there are elements of the character that can be faulted and seen as a little dated. Whilst the struggle with weight and being attractive to men is something that some women will find relatable, at times it seems a lot of Bridget’s happiness has been made to rest upon these superficial things, and we are made to feel that she will only be truly content with a conventional happy ending. That said, viewers should not expect to take away an empowering message of female strength, but rather allow themselves to laugh at Bridget’s misfortunes, a humorous script and a genuine rom-com that does not take itself too seriously. Bridget Jones’s Baby satisfies the cravings that fans have felt for twelve years, providing welcome refreshment from the former two films. It is warm, laugh out loud British comedy, and does everything you would expect it to.
Photo Credit: Flicker, Pexels
The lobster (2015) Set in a hotel where the guests have forty-five days to find true love before they are turned into an animal, The Lobster is as funny and freaky as it sounds. Humour dryer than a meal of soda crackers in the desert during a drought, this is dead-pan black comedy at the height of its game. Jarringly violent, with sarcastic narration by Rachel Weisz, mind-melting performance by Colin Farrell and a cello soundtrack that verges on the slapstick, the word ‘unique’ would do this movie catastrophic disservice. Watch and see. - Louis Pigeon-Owen
brooklyn (2015) This incredibly human story follows the emigration of a small-town Irish girl to New York. Between crippling homesickness and tumultuous love affairs, Eilis Lace (Saoirse Ronan) battles her conflicted love of her homeland and America in this unique romance. Although peppered with Julie Walter’s comic touch, this is guaranteed to get the waterworks going. - Willa Hope
Film 09
Concrete.film@uea.ac.uk
sausage party Grab your buns, you’re in for a bumpy ride mitch stephenson Written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jonah Hill, Sausage Party follows the quest of Frank (Seth Rogen), a humble hotdog sausage, to finally be ‘together’ with his true love, a hot-dog bun. The movie is set within the confines of supermarket aisles, with clear divides being drawn and loose comments being made throughout about popculture and race conflict.
Initially the characters are presented as onedimensional, with a truly ridiculous song being used as a plot device to signify their understanding of a sole purpose, that of which is to be chosen and eaten.
star-filled cast throughout ensure that the storyline itself, whilst revelatory, is also enjoyable and the back and forth between characters is made more pleasurable through the choices of foods used to represent evident stereotypes about cultures.
However, as the film progresses, you begin to witness the problems which arise from a bunch of everyday food items understanding that when they complete their sole purpose, they are unfortunately, brutally murdered. The animation and
If the concept of the film didn’t strike you as odd and off-the-wall, then the engagement of the film’s final few scenes will either leave you feeling slightly confused and weirded-out, or laughing your arses off.
animated adults Charlie Levenson Traditionally, animation has been aimed at children and, with the help of Disney/ Pixar, it is firmly stereotyped as something only watched by kids. However, after the huge critical success of Sausage Party, one has start to consider the appeal of animation on adult audiences. Over on the TV side of things, animations getting a wide adult reception is evident with shows such as The Simpsons starting it all and Family Guy, South Park, Rick and Morty, etc.
Animation had no age limit continuing the trend. Yet, on the cinema side of things, we still see a severe lack of animated films aimed at, or received by, adults. Could Sausage Party have just changed all that? Over the last two decades, Pixar and Disney have ruled over the animation genre, producing animated masterpiece after animated masterpiece, but perhaps that’s just why animation is now starting to appeal to adults. Bear with me now as I delve a little into the
human psyche. Year after year adults are continuously faced with the same old PG, happy ending, fairytale-esque animated films. So when a film comes along like Sausage Party that completely subverts these tropes and clichés, adults will see it as a welcome originality; a chance to go against the well-mannered, well-behaved animation we usually see in the cinema industry. Perhaps the burden of continuously rehashed ‘goody good’ animated films makes the adult audience feel a rush of rebellion.
There are, of course, many appeals of animation to an adult-audience. After all, it is still cinema: it is still art at its core. Moreover, animation can offer something different to the adult audience: no more pretentiously judging the actor’s facial expressions, praising the use of natural lighting or critiquing the practical effects, animation is free all of that. It is beautiful and amazing in its own cinematic right, offering a purer, stripped back experience. Illustration by Willa Hope
Concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
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Fashion
autumn menswear how to look good on a student budget
Ellen atkinson
The Bomber As the temperature drops there’s no better way to keep cosy than to layer up with a bomber jacket. Due to the versatility of this piece, the bomber is a must-have this autumn. Pair with a knit jumper and jeans to create the perfect laid-back look. Colour block jackets are ideal for completing any outfit, but if you really want to stand out this season opt for bombers made from unconventional materials such as velvet, or go for jackets with patterns or patches.
Feel the fire Copper and rust colours have been dominating runways this season and we can understand why. These shades embody the colours of autumn and add a splash of colour to any outfit; brightening up even the most grey of days.
wearable) trends for this season. Here are some of our favourite men’s trends that can be easily achieved by visiting high street stores, to ensure that you look great without blowing your entire student loan. Illustrations by Emily Claridge
Looking to welcome the new season by switching up your wardrobe? VENUE has got you covered! Arrays of new styles and trends have been showcased on catwalks from the best designers around the world and we have sifted through to find some of the best (and more
These shades are perfect for any occasion, whether it be wearing a rust jumper beneath a blazer for a smartcasual look or pulling over a copper-coloured hoodie to keep cosy this autumn. This is the ideal trend to embrace as it caters to all different tastes and styles with colour block pieces and copper accessories.
Checkmate One of the biggest trends this season is everything check! Embrace this by pairing check shirts with jeans for a perfect autumn casual outfit or complete your look with check accessories for a more subtle nod to the trend. Opt for cooler blues and greens for a classic check combination or choose warmer colours to add a pop of colour to your autumn wardrobe.
Fashion 11
Concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
how to hide the hangover a post-freshers week guide
emily claridge We all know freshers week is not the most graceful time of year but don’t worry VENUE is here to rescue you from your trackie bottoms and panda eyes. We’ve got tips and tricks to bring you head to toe back to the model student you are.
Make-up Firstly, lipstick can hide a multitude of sins. Is your mascara half way down your face? Are there flecks of glitter littering your hair? Probably. Just pop some lipstick on, I would say it means no one will notice the other stuff but I’m not sure how true that is. Maybe just keep telling yourself that. It’s definitely worth a try though and everyone will appreciate the effort. No more panda eyes when you’ve got a Kylie lip kit on! BB cream. After you‘ve attempted to scrape off the piles of makeup you have applied for the LCR, give your skin a break and go for BB cream for a few days rather than full foundation. It will let your skin
breathe a bit more and won’t look so much like you’re trying to hide a multitude of sins.
our
Facemasks have been savour this week, whether they actually help your skin or just pampering yourself i s
give you a free sample of one of the facemasks.
Fashion Please, put the trackie bottoms down. It is tempting we know. Comfort seems like the only option right now. Especially for you first years who are about to meet your course mates and go to your first few lectures, maybe you should rethink your first impression being a pyjama clad slightly-smelling post-LCR mess. Another thing to stray clear of is turning up in the same clothes you wore to the LCR, you aren’t fooling anyone we know what you did last night.
needs more. Also it will help your skin, apparently it improves your mood and fatigue also, there is no cheaper remedy for the LCR. Relax, just take a break. Freshers week is a lot of fun but also very full on. If you’re feeling a bit drained, the reality of a term at uni is setting in then try and just take some time for yourself. Spend a day doing what you want to do, maybe catch up on some reading if that’s what will help or just stay in bed, call your mum, and have some chocolate. It will all be fine.
Do some damn washing, we know the laundrette feels like the furthest ends of this earth but just throw in every single LCR - outfit anything you have tainted with paint, glitter, vomit etc., on this week and just blitz it - you’ll feel better afterwards trust me.
Lifestyle going
to help mentally recover from the post-LCR blues but either way it’s highly recommended. We personally love the Lush facemasks as they are all natural, cruelty-free and good for sensitive skin. Also if you want to be cheeky and look pleadingly into their lovely Lush employee eyes they’ll
Drink some damn water. Seriously. Water. Drink it. After those VK’s, there is nothing your body
Illustrations by Elley West
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Concrete.fashion@uea.ac.uk
Fashion
diy: banana oat facemask get YOUR FRESH FACE FIX
Ingredients:
1 ripe banana 2 tbsp organic honey 3 tbsp fresh lemon jui ce 3 tbsp chopped oats
Instructions: Mash banana in a bowl and combine with other ingredients. Apply to face generously. Leave on for 10 minutes . Rinse with luke warm water. Why is this good for my skin I hear you ask. Lucky for you I have that exact information!
banana: The potassium in bananas moisturises and hydrates your skin and is much cheaper than moisturiser. Vitamin A helps reduce scars and Vitamin B reduces wrinkles and the appearance of ageing which even if you’re still young and sprightly I’m sure the LCR will soon take its toll.
honey: Honey
is
a
natural
antihistamine and helps soothe your skin so if you have sensitive skin this is good for you. Honey is also meant to help reduce sun burn or sun damage, not sure if that’s such a problem in Norwich in October but those are the facts!
lemon juice: Suprisingly, lemon juice actually works as an exfoliant as the citric acid helps remove dead skin cells. It is also known to help reduce blackheads, I’m pretty sure that’s what Beyoncé was
talking about in Lemonade.
oats: A great exfoliator for those with sensitive skin as it is far more gentle. Oats also moisturise and work to cleanse your skin due to the saponin component.
Illustrations by Elley West
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN ALEX MORRISON
Remaking a classic is a daunting task, especially if it’s of a film that’s been celebrated, referenced and spoofed as many times as The Magnificent Seven has. Nonetheless, Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the 1963 Western manages to get the job done, even if it does feel workmanlike in its aspirations. Following a band of men gathering together to fight off a corrupt industrialist in the Old West, the greatest asset of the film is the cast; the seven manage to have good chemistry together, with Denzel Washington’s stoic yet strong performance and the rugged charm of Chris Pratt standing out, whilst Haley Bennett is a solid supporting player as the woman who hires the seven. The weakest link in the cast is, unfortunately, Peter Sarsgaard as the villain, who seems underserved by the script and acts over the top to compensate, which gets somewhat irritating after a while. Elsewhere, the action is energetic and frenetic, though the restriction of the rating means that the film doesn’t get as bloody as it could have done. The design of the film is very good, with the sets looking wonderfully authentic and giving a feel of the Old West, as is the score, which manages to act as a solid send off for the late James Horner. As such, whilst The Magnificent Seven won’t surpass the original film, it still manages to have some fun with the well-established clichés of the narrative and injects some excitement.
tTHE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UTTERLY ATROCIOUS CALLUM BROWNE
I think it’s a tasteful understatement that there are a few remakes around these days, and quite a few articles written about them. Many feel that the trend of endlessly rebooting films and franchises indicates a ‘creative bankruptcy’ within Hollywood, a ‘lack of original ideas’. To my mind, this is a little like pointing at a house that’s on fire and yelling “Oh no! There’s something terribly wrong with that house! Someone left the tap running in the kitchen!”, but you can see their point. So with the release of The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua’s 2016 remake of the 1960 original, it was inevitable there would be some backlash, as any attempt to remake something as iconic as The Magnificent Seven is naturally going to be seen as a cynical cash-grab. The problem with this outrage, however, is that it forgets a crucial fact about the original Magnificent Seven: it is itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 film The Seven Samurai. In fact, examining the Western canon, it’s remarkable how many of them are remakes, particularly how many are re-workings of Kurosawa films: A Fistful of Dollars is basically Yojimbo, just with Clint Eastwood wearing a pair of your nan’s curtains and squinting a lot. The Outrage, a 1964 western (which rather jarringly stars William Shatner as a priest), is Kurosawa’s 1950’s classic Rashomon, one of the most innovative films in cinematic history. Even Tarantino’s far more recent Django Unchained is a very, very (very) loose re-imagining of the 1966 film Django. In fact, the themes and tropes of the Western are so established, one could argue that it is impossible for a film within that genre not to be at least part-remake. While the Hollywood reboot machine is undeniably tiresome, when it comes to Westerns, perhaps we should attempt a more measured response than the customary eye-roll/Twitter Rant/Four month pilgrimage to Sergio Leone’s house in search of meaning. After all, with classics like A Fistful of Dollars recycling everything short of its actors from another (admittedly excellent) film, if any genre can claim a tradition of good remakes, it’s Westerns.
C. Writing 15
Concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk
home
Where we come from and where we are now is very important for writing. Dickens and London, Zola and Paris, Steinbeck and America, Murakami and Japan – everything they write has its roots in their respective cultures; their histories, sensibilities and attitudes are catalysts and backdrops for their works. But ‘Home’ doesn’t need to be a place, it might be a lifestyle, a language, or a group of people, and since UEA is an international university, I thought where you come from and where you identify with would be a pertinent writing prompt. Hopefully to some of you Norwich is or will become a home, but if until then you’d like to write about that far-away place you’re from, that’s fine by me. – Hugo Douglas-Deane
Here, home — Katherine Leaver In the comfort of our conversation I can draw The precise angles of the scenery in my head For you, if you want You whistle through the mist that surrounds me sometimes and I close my eyes and follow and I am safe You ask to hold the shapes I see And I am grateful for how you ground me You are here, and I am home
Don’t let yourself erase them as you say Lois Arcari These are only fragments. There’s the reservation; pregnant clause. Just the lint, life’s lining unfurling itself into small joys. But they are not small. How can they be? All those possibilities. Those in lighter shades, of course. The little rituals refusing themselves. The volta in a question sitting on the edge, gaily, coyly swinging legs, waiting for the moment in which see you laters stale. The caffeine says it all, preparation for a new language; family translated from and too comfortable unknowns. Trees may acquire Dutch elm. Their apples stew into something soft and bitter, gritty at the crucial bites. With a sigh not nearly vague enough, or too opaque. The tangles appendaged to us all, however near or distant. The roots are still worth pawing at, the branches pining onto, out of sight. The soil must have something fertile in it. A question of classification walks in, grinning, you return the favour. Speaking, you might notice the clichés tumbling out of you, but that’s another tense. In this one, you hold contentment in your hands, cupping it. It waits to run down through your fingers, pour itself onto the floor. It will do as it wishes, but this little nurture fuels you. An outline in your palm to hold to when the days rush in. This is peace in a world which has no right to have a word for it. Who’s ever seen it? But you’ve heard it, somewhere, in the middle of a laugh. Stretching nearly long enough. Words have a way, even when they don’t. Breath too, a blessing. Savour it. Them. The covenant the blood, the hope the home.
The Downs – A.S.C. Up above the echoing green, Are the downs where skylarks team, Hills that roll like Yorkshire’s dales, The mills replaced by farmer’s bales. Risen up from the valley floor, Cut by the river, running to the shore, Shining like an untied shoelace, Beholden to the tide’s slow pace. Heather bushes crown the downs, Due-ponds sit pristinely round, And lambs which drink in the shallows, Know nothing of the butcher’s gallows. The grass kept cropped by the sheep Absorb their tears as the ewes’ weep, And over it and over it, Pound mares with metal feet. The race course like an artery, Is now in need of surgery, Its green hair patchily sown, Chalk scalp white like marrow bone. But now the horses run no more; They sicken behind a stable door, So voles and crows own the course, The land split between them and the gorse. The long backbone of the downs So immune to the clamouring towns, Bends low to them by the sea, No longer tall but stooping, elderly. And rising up in their stead, Red eyed and malevolent, The crimson stare of the incinerator, Warns nature you’ve met your maker.
Concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk
16
C. Writing
The Colour Of Fish (A Western Australian City) — Liam Heitman-Rice
A
t the revolving-door feet of blue glass giants, the currents do not smile and do not look up. Distracted by only what lays before them, they are the fish that stand, the reeds that run and do not see eye to eye; their faces are white, downward cast. I myself do not flow in these tides of artificiality, wary of ill-fated attempts made past, and instead assume the role of observer. Skyward I look to the gleaming steel pillars, their polished faces burning in the sun as they suspend the clouds with their indifference. Gods of only a young city, they are nonetheless possessed of a disdain centuries old – they have no love in their metal skeletons. In the city is bred anonymity. One does not need stand out, for we are all fish in the same current, and individuality is an unwise luxury. Coming my way I see a species of the city: the lone cod. Eyes cold, heavy, grey; slow of motion, uncaring; a slippery beast wrapped in the oblivion of an iPhone universe. He is not worth catching: he is too fat to haul up, and he will taste terrible – the bitterness of unzested life. And so he judders past. These sallow diamondwhite faces are hard with the weight of stagnation, dragging behind their fins concrete briefcases as they are choked by ties made of plastic bags. The current is swift but neither clean nor clear, dirtied by colonialism, yet the diamondwhite is dazzling. A milky, mechanical colour pulsating beneath a film of sweat, it is the texture of bleakness – like detuned sunlight punched through cloudbanks. Yet ambling against the tide – shoulders lax and face upward turned to the flicker and dazzle of yellow silk slammed unto the glass titans – is the black fish. He does shine as do the diamondwhites in their gilled coats of twopiece polyester, but his is a glow of far more natural quality. His does not burn or scald, does not blind or unsettle, but is the casual warmth of a man comfortable in his black skin. The Aboriginal glow is quiet, at odds with the dumb rush of the current. To a stronger current does he commit, coursing through forty millennia of a sunburned land, of swollen Boabs grander and more glorious than any tower or white man’s monument. The black fish glide in the serene silence of inheritance, assured of their ownership of this red-dust continent. We are the owners of this land, confirmed not in signature but in Spirit. That is our bond and it cannot be typed, printed or projected. We have been snared in nets, cast out of our waters and had our tides poisoned with the arrogance of diamondwhites, but we have prevailed. Silently and confidently we watch the encroaching modernity of our invaders, but do not fear societal castration. In their hyperactive infancy, the diamondwhites have not yet learned to walk and instead amble and waddle, impatient to leap into an unknown they hope to mould into a certainty. But it is the black fish that stand on the broadest and strongest feet, dry, cracked - - and decorated in the dust of our inheritance.
HOME - RAHUL MEHTA If you have a chance to visit my city, Aleppo, Amidst the fractured ruins and twisted metal, Do please look for the broken heart I buried once in a blood-stained scarf. I watched my child’s first steps in the streets; The same place I felt her last heartbeats. We often sang under an audience of stars, Now my throat is riddled with fresh scars. I miss the hearth, the warmth, even the gas bill, The photos and flowers on our window sill. I long to return to that familiar place, If only to see her immortal face. Lullabies turned to cries and now silence, Despair and grief usurp that world of violence What point is there in finding a place to live, When you have no one to fill it with?
nomad — anisha jackson They have no bricks to their name; just shell, like mollusks. Locks offer no security in comparison to the magnetic field that guides a compass. Since time immemorial they have utilised the astronomer’s work: a marquee mapped amongst the stars.
C. Writing 17
Concrete.creativewriting@uea.ac.uk
BIRDSONG — A.S.C. Like a swallow in May she felt at home, Yet knew that both her past and future lay Five thousand miles or more away.
Barcelona is… — Alice Kouzmenko he absence of harsh seasons – an autumn that blends T into spring, skimming over the cruel temperatures that characterise typical winter months. A place where twenty-five-
Recipe for Home — Judith Howe Take a big old house Add clutter (Lots of clutter) And loud laughter from downstairs. Stir in the smell of fresh bread, A pair of walking poles propped up by the door, Books in every possible corner and crevice. Hang too many coats (With unknown owners), Add a pinch of loud singing, Measure out frame upon frame of smiling faces. Combine a large portion of phone calls from grandparents perfectly imperfectly timed With a generous helping of generosity. Mix well. Leave to rest for 18 years, And you’ll get as close as you could possibly get (Which isn’t nearly close enough).
degree weather is jacket weather, where the slightest embrace of a breeze merits a woollen scarf.
Restaurants that boast a variety of tapas, each waiter competing to lure you into theirs for lunches that seep into late afternoons and dinners that begin after the moon has risen. Markets scattered around neighbourhoods, tinted with a vibrancy that no camera can attempt to capture. Fruit fresher than folded laundry: crimson tomatoes with a look that almost beats their taste. Almost. Architecture the rest of Europe should envy, buildings stained with colour on the outside and history on the inside. Gaudi tattooed himself over every brick, his portrait still visible in the mosaic tiles, if one knows how to look. Concrete streets flow like rivers to the Mediterranean shore – beaches that gift views of the mountains, those just a short drive away. Not only the best of both worlds, but the best of all three. The perpetual echo of multiple languages, a foreground shared by Spanish and Catalan, but a background that’ll make any nationality feel welcome. Areas that seduce tourists neighbour those that house locals, a labyrinth one can weave their way in and out of. First kisses. Sunday morning cyclists and dog-walkers, kids kicking footballs as hard as they dream to meet the players that inspired them to do so. You don’t have to watch the Barça matches to know when there’s a home goal – the neighbourhood erupts in a collective cheer. Café cortado. Holidays of human towers, giant puppets, fire-breathing dragons, and streets littered with sweets. Lipstick is replaced with wine; perfume lost in a lingering cloud of beer. A culture that might not be universal, but constitutes a universe of its own. Mastering the art of patience, discovering the comfort in waiting rooms and eavesdropping on the conversations of the customers ahead of you to make the delay that little more entertaining. Second kisses. Club nights that morph into seaside mornings, sun rising higher as feet sink ever deeper into the sand. Not a city that never sleeps (for snores sound through Sundays and post-lunchtime siestas) but one that, when awake, has a heartbeat that vibrates beneath the bricks and tiles. Friends from countries I’ve never set foot in, born over oceans, with backgrounds opposite to my own. But laughter parallels between cultures. So does love. They’re friends I’m not sure what I did to deserve, those for whom words fail to do justice. You know who you are. A home away from home. A city that will not only have a permanent place in my heart, but one that has soaked into my skin and coated my lungs in ways that only settings where one has spent their formative years can. Thank you for six unbelievable years, Barcelona. I’ll be back.
Illustrations by Emily Mildren
Gaming 19
Concrete.gaming@uea.ac.uk
The quick rise and fall of no man’s sky endless possibilities, but not endless enough
SaM WHITELAW
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If you can cast your minds back to July you may remember the incredible hype around the ‘most extensive game of all time’. No Man’s Sky was set to be dolor sit an Lorem amazingipsum step forward in amet, consectetur adipiscing gaming. The sandbox game elit. Nunc nearly metus endless sapien, boasted efficitur laoreet libero possibilities with over et, 18 mattis sapien. quintillionmattis unique planets Lorem sit for youipsum to dolor discover amet, consectetur and explore. Now, adipiscing elit. only 3 months Sed nulla metus, after the release rhoncus of thequis luctus game, sed, eu there hendrerit are less than metus. Donec 1000 players on vehicula dui an at Steam and elit porttitor, investigation has et convallis enim posuere. been launched against the Integer consectetur game for false advertising. scelerisque scelerisque. Pellentesque at metus The initial burst for the consequat sem egestas game was intense, like any volutpat. Mauris eget rhoncus hyped game. People quickly mauris. Class aptent went off to search the taciti near sociosqu ad litora eager torquent endless planets, to per conubia be the first to nostra, visit every planet available.
This did not last. Since shown in adverts for the game then the game has rapidly on Steam and YouTube before declined, being sfmet with thelettering release. These elements buttacup mediocre reviews, averaging were cut from the game at about 6/10. Players were without any statement from quickly turned away from the developers – Hello Games. per inceptos quam the game due tohimenaeos. boredom. Maecenas Whilst thesehendrerit elements are not Proin quam nibh, aliquet a turpis facilisis hendrerit. This problem was added to integral to playing the game, et sembynec, ultricies, velit quis thetincidunt missing Vivamus as they are mainly extensions pelements o r t a eleifend dictum, enim est of gameplay, this is still enough pulvinar justo, ac rhoncus to make buyers annoyed and sapien tortor. officiallyerat lodgeposuere complaints. To Nulla commodo nisl eu give examples of this, various elit placerat, in the pretium complaints mention lack leo. Nam diam pellentesque. that were of larger space fightsMorbi and magna mi, accumsan id elit euanimals, luctus. falsely advertised, improve generated iaculiswithout vitae convallis at ex velit. and them Pellentesque with the game delivering vel, semper nec ligula. Donec justo purus, commodo the game was a hollow limited mechanics to what vitae, malesuada shell. There was nothing a wasodio previously shown. Praesent id orci orci. fringilla urna. Aliquam erat to do except explore, Donec diam libero, accumsan volutpat. which can only be done for hendrerit odio ofmollis, a certain amount time venenatis ultrices mi. before someone gets bored. Pellentesque eget aliquet Thus, over the course of the felis. leo mi, tristique comingCras months, users simply eget mauris convallis, stopped playing. If congue consequat players wanted a lectus. Nam quis game to idly play in pulvinar the background,sem. any sandbox game would do, and most gamers would rather play a more exciting game like GTA V instead. Then there was even worse news for the game. The investigation, launched by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), is based around missing features that were
Illustrations by Niamh Jones
Many people have also added the missing elements of any distinguishable plot and any incentive to keep coming back to the game. It is important to remember in libero dui. thatVestibulum the investigation hasn’t Nunc eget mattis ligula, finished; it may result in No in egestas diam.It may Integer Man’s Sky favour. be scelerisque iaculis too late though, even justo, if the in pretium tempus ASA find thenisi game to notvel. be Etiam venenatis posuere nisl at fault, with the reputation in pellentesque. Pellentesque of the game already in the nec varius lorem. eget mud. The bad Nam reviews, nisi purus. Suspendisse investigation, and faulty potenti. Cum sociis natoque game mechanics have made penatibus et magnis dis one of the most hyped games parturient montes, nascetur of the year almost forgotten ridiculus sit within themus. space Praesent of 10 weeks. amet pretium erat. Praesent tincidunt est sit amet augue maximus posuere. Donec eu augue quis l i g u l a interdum rutrum. Ut congue risus vitae
Concrete.gaming@uea.ac.uk
20 Gaming
FIFA 17: A review Storyline aims for champion’s league, lands in europa callum pinner EA sports’ increasingly shiny Footballing Simulation hit shelves this week, much to the delirium of footballloving slackers worldwide. FIFA 17 is out and with it, the option of going outside for at least a week for its loyal fan base. This year’s big talking points in the build-up are the new Journey campaign, slight tweaks in
gameplay, and Lionel Messi’s dethroning as the game’s best player and cover star. Those who spent hours on end both loving and hating FIFA 16 will spend similar hours on 17 whooping in their room one moment and smashing their controller on the wall the next. Yet as with every year, FIFA 17 brings just about enough change around the edges to justify spending another £45, but not so much as to lose familiarity. The most important part of any sports game is the gameplay, despite much advertised new off-pitch features. It is hard
to find any significant differences from last year’s instalment in this respect. Perhaps the shooting is harder, or perhaps the passing is easier, however these changes are easy for the player to adjust to within a matter of games. As ever EA do a good job of blending realism with arcade-like playability. As the next best thing to watching or playing a real game of football, FIFA does away with slow moments and poor matches. As with real football, the game’s fun is result dependent. When winning the gameplay will appear fluid, fun and dynamic, when losing it is much the opposite. Wellknown blood boilers such as jet engine-like turning circles are still a thing, as are bizarre goalkeeper errors. This year’s biggest selling point, flaunted on the adverts, is the highly exciting ‘The Journey.” In a fierce deviation from the classic sport game features, especially in FIFA, EA included a story mode. ‘T he Journey’ follows the story of the fictional Alex Hunter from childhood as he strives to rub shoulders with Ronaldo and become a world superstar. The idea is certainly different, and has its ups and downs. The experience is wonderful in
a surreal way sometimes, as your Hunter character speaks what you command whilst Wayne Rooney grins in the background. Another example of this is scoring a hat trick against Real Madrid but getting little credit. Alex Hunters story acts as a fun novelty upon starting, however as with all novelties it wears off. It can get a little tedious, and lacks what is best about FIFA as it is single player. It pales in comparison to playing with friends, or plying your abilities online. The staples of FIFA remain the main pull for returning and new players. Career mode and in particular Ultimate Team carry the bulk of the game as in previous years. A brand new Ultimate Team database and its competitions are enough distraction itself for an entire year of FIFA. This year it has become much more competitive, with the new weekend league feature finally giving players a chance to find some form of world ranking. FIFA 17 is a must for any football fan who counts themselves a keen gamer, even if just to follow the crowd and veer away from the now desolate FIFA 16 servers. It remains the clear leader in bringing the world’s most popular sport to living rooms and bedrooms.
Gaming 21
Concrete.gaming@uea.ac.uk
losing my pokEmon virginity
Niamh Jones I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve never owned a hand-held games console, my family just couldn’t afford to get me that much-desired PlayGame Boy Cube 360. That’s right, I know nothing about console gaming. So imagine my joy when my friends all pitched in to get me a 2DS for my 21st birthday, Pokémon Omega Ruby downloaded onto it and ready to go. Again, not ashamed to admit that I cried. So in order to commemorate this auspicious loss of my gaming console virginity, I’d like to give you my first impressions of playing on a 2DS. It’s alright for some people, they’ve owned Nintendo products for years and can just pick up any version and be a natural. I’m sitting there two hours later, confused as to which button is A or Y, and getting overlyexcited about the circle pad (because seriously that thing is so fun to use, it’s like a little wobbly button). First of all, this thing is adorable. It’s small and perfectly formed, with two wee screens. Loading up Pokémon was far too exciting, I loved watching the chunky, red Pokémon revolving on the bottom screen to the theme tune (Dougie says it’s called Groudon, I’m trusting him here). Pressing START to begin my adventure, I was getting
An driven spacedone age adventure be imagination gentle please, i’ve never this before
butterflies in my stomach. It dawned on me that this would commence the long, slippery slope to buying forty quid games every few months, and trying not to become obsessed with collecting every item whilst simultaneously completing every side quest. Nevertheless, I made Torchic my starter, and after naming it Kenny (as a massive bird nerd, I couldn’t resist Kenny’s adorable beady eyes), I decided to go and potter about the town. From years of stealing my cousin’s console while she slept to play on Animal Crossing, the little blocky houses and wandering interactive NPCs were a blast from the past.
I was sure that I’d gone overboard when I caught myself rummaging through every patch of long grass that I could find, trying to beef Kenny up as much as possible – but apparently this is a normal thing to do according to my game-wise friends. Not a huge fan of this Brendan chap, I don’t care that his dad is Birch and a big-wig expert on
Pokémon. My mistrust of him began when he looked out at me from the screen with his soulless grey eyes and said ‘I wasn’t expecting a girl’. I got my revenge by utterly annihilating him and his Mudkip in my first trainer battle. I thought his big ego might
have deflated after that souldestroying defeat but no, he continued to sass me throughout the session. Looks like a healthy rivalry is blossoming there. So I haven’t got awfully far, heaven knows I have a lot to learn. I’m more of an Overwatch and Civ 5 sort of gal since buying a laptop, and I certainly always drive the wrong way down the course of every Mario Kart game. But for all my well-deserved title of ‘n00b’, I try bloody hard to be the very best that I can be. Like no-one ever was. I mean, to catch them is my real test, and to train them? Well, that’s my cause. Illustration by Dougie Dodds
“IMPRESSIVE IN ITS ENTIRETY”
Television 23
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Luke Cage A new netflix original that will have you on the edge of your seat Melissa Haggar Fumbling fist first into Netflix’s hallowed digital grounds is the unstoppable and bullet-proof Luke Cage (Mike Colter), who you might know from the disturbingly brilliant Jessica Jones. In case you were wondering how Luke would fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe on a whole, this hooded figure slides in with absurd ease, despite his bulky stature. Littered with references to both Hell’s Kitchen Daredevil and the abrasive Jessica Jones, Marvel’s Luke Cage makes sure to fully acknowledge the universe which it inhabits – and if this means referencing ‘the incident’ with The Avengers, other people with ‘abilities’ and occasionally a man with a trusty hammer, then so be it. There’s also plenty of familiar faces (and voices) that crop up from time to time, with Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple and everyone’s favourite radio host, Trish (Rachael Taylor), dropping by to offer some cohesiveness for the evergrowing television universe. Marvel’s Luke Cage offers a closer look into the inner psyche and troubled nature of the promising character we saw flicker in and out of Jessica’s life, and this new effort from Netflix & Marvel
offers up a compelling backstory for audiences to devour, whilst also following the present day problems of Cage. At the source of these issues for Cage is Cornell ‘Cottonmouth’ Stokes (Mahershala Ali), a gangster type who has immeasurable control over Harlem, Stokes’ cousin Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard), a career politician who has illegal dealing with her wayward relative, the aptly named and enigmatic “Shades” (Theo Rossi), a smart criminal and associate of Diamondback (Erik LaRay Harvey), a shadowed figure mentioned purely by name for the first half of the series. Simone Missick also stars as Misty Knight, a justice wielding Harlem police detective who uses her strong deductive skills to try and get to the truth behind all the bullet holes. Whilst we got a glimpse of Hell’s Kitchen in
Daredevil and Jessica Jones, we travel further up river for Luke Cage, landing on the doorsteps of notorious Harlem, home to a large majority of African-American residents, as well as cultural and business hubs. It’s a stark contrast, and Netflix seems to be consistently expanding the limits on its violence threshold, with Cage being grittier, awe-inspiring and deeply disturbing. But despite the magnificent feats that character performs, there is an overwhelming sense of reality to Cage similar to that of Jessica Jones. The inclusion of current economic and political issues helps to ground Cage in something more than just fiction; this is a series where black culture and livelihood is put at the centre of the production and the characters struggles are
not undermined. They are real – almost too real – and the performances of the incredible cast showcase this, whilst also unashamedly providing representation for audiences who feel like their ethnicity is not given the screen time it deserves. Jessica Jones was real for its PTSD and sexual assault survivors, and Luke Cage is real and important for its black audiences who have a plethora of complicated, deviant, and multi-layered characters to relate to. Luke Cage is impressive in its entirety, from cultural celebrations to frenetic fist fights, harrowing performances to atmospheric, soulful music – it’s clear what the soul of this series is. But also rather impressive is the ways in which the series connects to previous Marvel characters and joins each one together, no doubt in anticipation of Marvel’s Iron Fist – the next instalment following martial arts expert Danny Rand and portrayed by Finn Jones, set to come out sometime in 2017 – and The Defenders, a joint adventure featuring all 4 of our TV ‘heroes’ (Daredevil, Jessica, Luke & Iron Fist). All episodes of Marvel’s Luke Cage are now available exclusively on Netflix.
Illustration by Murray Lewis
Concrete.television@uea.ac.uk
24
Television
Oldie But GOldie Cold feet
denise koblenz The 90s dramedy is back on our screens and unlike most revivals (e.g. BBC’s Sitcom Season Failure) its return is celebrating a huge success and is beloved by fans new and old alike. For anyone who is not aware of what must be one of ITV’s most successful comedy dramas, it is basically a mix between Friends and a more grown up version of Outnumbered. From 1997-
2003 the storyline followed three couples through their mid-thirties, experiencing ups and downs in love, friendship and parenthood. Now returning to our screens Adam (James Nesbitt), Pete (John Thomson), Jenny (Fay Ripley), Karen (Hermione Norris) and David (Robert Bathurst) find themselves in their 50s, having to deal with their now teenage children,
modern life and midlife crises. It has moved on and apart from the unchanged logo, is not stuck in 90s nostalgia but manages to transform storylines and characters, updating it for a modern day audience. It is real but at the same time heart-warming and funny. Whether you are familiar with
the 90s original or not, Cold Feet is well worth a watch. Just sit yourself down with a nice cuppa on a Monday evening, tune into ITV and judge for yourself.
Parks and Recreation The office’s utterly binge watchable little brother Dan Struthers Parks and Rec may always be remembered as the TV show which first introduced the world to the most unlikely Hollywood leading man: Chris Pratt, and heavily borrowed the mockumentary format that worked so well for The Office, but it’s easily one of the best sitcoms of the last 10 years. While on the surface Parks and Rec may simply be stealing the successful template of The Office with the ensemble cast, shaky handheld documentary style camera and lack of a laughter track, this is simply as it was created by the same mind that developed The Office for an American audience and they obviously went by the ‘if
it ain’t broke, dont fix it’ philosophy.
hates the government for which he works.
However, inevitable Office comparisons aside – inevitable as Parks and Rec was intended to be a spin off to it – what makes the show better than its big brother is the characters who are as memorable as they are hilarious. The writers’ dedication to seeing that each character has an interesting and often laugh out loud character arc is precisely why the show has lasted so long and attracted much of its critical praise. While everyone has their favourite character, whether it be Andy - the man child, Leslie – the sometimes inappropriately upbeat optimist, the icing on the cake is undoubtedly Ron Swanson – the deadpan director who passionately
On paper a show focusing on a Midwestern parks department with a relatively unknown cast sounds like a train crash waiting to happen but remarkably it works due to its memorable characters, razor sharp scripts and its tendency to not patronise the audience. Parks and Rec succeeds primarily in its consistency throughout all 7 series, as while most other sitcoms tend to dip in quality towards the latter series (The Office), Parks and Rec only improves upon the previous series. Making smart decisions like boosting Chris Pratt to a series regular after the first series and adding a sprinkling of
cameos throughout the 125 episodes from the likes of seasoned comic actors Bill Murray, Louis C.K and Paul Rudd keeps the show fresh and utterly binge watchable. If you’ve been scrolling through Netflix after a long day and you just want something light and 20 minutes long, then dive straight into Parks and Rec. A word of warning: stick it out through the first series as after a shaky start it only gets better.
Illustrations by Lucinda Swain
Television 25
Concrete.television@uea.ac.uk
Autumn Dramas Victoria and poldark
Jodie Bailey With Autumn upon us and cold nights inevitable, we all need a new drama to watch when we curl up with a hot drink in the evening. If you enjoy your period dramas as the nation tends to, you will be spoilt for choice with BBC’s Poldark and ITV’s Victoria. For those of you who have not heard of the former (although I highly doubt that anyone could have escaped the media frenzy generated from that scything scene), Poldark has returned for a second season much to the pleasure of many up and down the country. Meanwhile, Victoria’s first season has proven so popular that it has outperformed Poldark in the ratings, and has already been greenlit for a second season, so there will certainly be more to come from Jenna Coleman as she takes the titular role as the monarch.
This year Aidan Turner reprises his role as the dashing Captain Ross Poldark after ending last season on a rather despondent note. The sombre tone seems set to continue this series as Ross must clear his name of charges of wrecking, inciting a riot and murder whilst his nemesis George Warleggan conspires his downfall. Whereas most of the focus from the audience has been upon Aidan Turner himself, the series makes the most of Cornwall’s stunning, rugged scenery to capture the essence of life on the Cornish coast in the 18th century. This hardy, natural landscape provides the perfect backdrop for the characters’ innumerable
Illustration by Denise Koblenz
personal feuds and inner turmoil. From the Poldark and Warleggan rivalry, to Ross’s bittersweet relationship with his cousin Francis and his conflicting passions for his ex-fiancée Elizabeth and wife Demelza, the show has excitement enough for everyone. Still not content with Ross’ brooding character and in need of something a little more refined, regal almost? ITV’s new show Victoria achieves the perfect balance between exciting drama and historical accuracy. Jenna Coleman, perhaps most recognisable from her time in the TARDIS as Clara Oswald, takes on the role of Queen Victoria as she ascends to the throne. Whilst it’s certainly no Game of Thrones there is still plenty of political power games as Victoria tries to assert her power and juggle the expectations of being a female in the 19th century, in addition to her feelings for her Prime Minister Lord Melbourne (Rufus Sewell) and Prince Albert (Tom Hughes). But the series does not only focus on the royal drama, harking back to
Downton Abbey the show also follows the lives of some of the servants in the royal household, some of whom have intriguing origins. Perhaps our fascination with costume dramas at this time of year is due to some sort of nostalgia for stories of times gone by. Maybe we see in these dramas that despite the fact that several centuries have past, we still contend with the same emotional dilemmas. Or perhaps we are all just hoping that Ross is going to have hack at his crops with his scythe again. Either way, there are plenty of dramas to choose from this autumn.
Music 27
Concrete.Music@uea.ac.uk
interview: INTERVIEW: Honne HONNE
honne talkDIVERSE tokyo,INFLUENCES diverse influences and dream Honne TALK TOKYO, AND DREAM COLLABORATIONS collaborations with kendrick lamar WITH KENDRICK LAMAR ALICE MORTIMER
alice mortimer
alice mortimer
Gameshow Two Door Cinema Club
Bonding over a mutual love of Japan and an equal distaste for the modern dating scene, East London electronicsoul duo Andy Clutterbuck (production and vocals) and James Hatcher (production) met at university. Jamming together they soon created the sound that can only be recognised as HONNE: electronic-pop saturated with lusty, swoon-worthy soul, their song-writing prowess aptly describing the gruelling phenomenon of making meaningful connections in the digital age. Now with an album under their belts and worldwide touring success, HONNE are beginning to truly hit the big time.
After what seemed like a mediocre return of the Irish trio; an insignificant, overhyped comeback single ‘Are We Ready? (Wreck)’, and a 1975 mock-up in the form of ‘Bad Decisions’, the release of Two Door Cinema Club’s title track from their forthcoming record confirms a vastly more matured sound from their fast-footed pop roots. With driving bass climaxing into screeching guitar reminiscent of prime Arctic Monkeys, ‘Gameshow’ is simply four minutes of sublime indierock. Starboy The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk
We spoke to one half of the duo, James Hatcher, to get to know the latest hype in electronic music. ‘Honne’ is a Japanese word meaning true feelings. What is it about Japan and/or its culture which inspired the sound of HONNE? “Andy had the opportunity to stay out there for a couple of months. I was in London and
The first release from his forthcoming album, Canadian R&B singer The Weeknd shifts from sexy, vocallyfocused soul to slick pop perfection with the help of collaborators, electronic dance duo Daft Punk. Trickling rhythms, echoing synth and a catchy hook: “Look what you’ve done / I’m a motherfucking starboy”, drive this confident, electroinspired banger.
he was in Tokyo and we were writing between. One of our tracks ‘No Place Like Home’ was written whilst he was in Tokyo. I don’t know what it is, I think the culture is just really interesting, and how it’s so busy. I guess kind of like how London is - there’s so many people, yet it can be quite a lonely place if you’re not surrounded by loved ones.” Who have been your key influencers? “For me, I grew up listening to Michael Jackson. He was the first gig I ever went to, when I must have been around eight or nine. But it was that James Blake keyboard sound that we sort of borrowed, mixing it with all these other influences – along with a bit of Michael Jackson, Frank Ocean, all that kind of stuff. Lots of electronic stuff and then there’s all the old soul that we both grew up with. You just sort of soak it in, I don’t think you even realise how much you do” is there anyone you would hope to collaborate with in the future?
“We’re talking to rappers at the moment, we’d love to collaborate with someone like GoldLink, but the ultimate would be Chance the Rapper or Kendrick Lamar, that would be insane, but I think we’d be punching above our weight with that one! But you never know who’s going to come up over the next year whilst we’re writing, so hopefully we’ll find some amazing people to collaborate with in the mean time.” Which fest was your favourite and how do you find fests in comparison to smaller headline gigs? “Glasto! The best thing about festivals is that hopefully those people that know you are going to come down to your set, but also it’s a great way of getting new people to hear your music, the people wandering past who may stop for a listen and then go away and check you out. That’s a great way of building up fans to come along to your regional headline shows I guess!”
28 Music
Concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
Desert island discs
RORY HORNE Haunt Banks
James hatcher of honne
“Which three tracks would you take to a desert island?” ‘Rock With You’ – Michael Jackson ‘Sweet Life’ – Frank Ocean ‘Angels’ – Chance the Rapper
“Your favourite album of all time?”
“Favourite track from your teenage years?”
‘HIStory’ – Michael Jackson
‘One Armed Scissor’ – At The Drive-In
“Your favourite dance song?”
“favourite song you’ve Sultry LA-based crooner Banks has come out all guns blazing produced?” with her sophomore LP, The
‘Can’t Do Without You’ – Caribou
3am
Who killed the genre? the rise of the eclectic artist Nick Mason To badly paraphrase Douglas Adams, there was once a time where “rock was real rock, pop was real pop, and small furry creatures making EDM were real small furry creatures making EDM.” It is somewhat peculiar to observe the broadening of music in the mainstream. The 1975 blend slick pop with dirty 80s funk in a way many would have historically sneered at, even when both genres were at their peak in the 80s. Biffy Clyro take hardcore roots into catchy radio rock that can be heard playing from your mum’s car.
“nowadays music is more like vodka and your favourite predrinks mixer” Blending genres is nothing new. Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory was the top
selling album of 2001 with its eclectic mix of metal and hip-hop. Today what has changed is the way genres blend. Where Linkin Park’s debut was oil and water, flipping between two genres in a song, nowadays music is more like vodka and your favourite pre-drinks mixer. When nu-metal was at the height of its power, a time that should remain in the past, you could be sure which part was rap and which part was metal. On The 1975’s Love Me, it is hard to tell where the pop ends and the funk begins. There were always bands who seamlessly merged music, The Police come to mind as notable in this field, but they were exceptions. Now pure genres struggle to break the mainstream where once they would gain dominance of the airwaves.
Concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
Altar. This highlight is a brooding, understated bop, built on an infectious beat reminiscent of Drake’s Too Good. Cranes in the Sky Solange The Knowles family does love a surprise album drop, as proven again this week by the release of Solange’s first LP in eight years, A Seat at the Table, Cranes In The Sky is an instant highlight, a beautiful, soaring track written with legendary R&B hit-maker Raphael Siddiq.
Whether this is good or bad depends on what you like. The new colour in the mainstream means listeners who want to get more flavour without straying too far from pop are in luck. For genre snobs, like myself, it Chris Grosset puts a ceiling on how far Stunt Queen your favourite bands can go Bloc Party without compromising their sound.
“THE FUTURE OF MAINSTREAM MUSIC IS SET TO BE A VERSATILE AND EXCITING ONE” With the rise of cheap music streaming it is hard to see this pattern ending; young bands can access all kinds of music with a single click. Having so much to draw from, the future of mainstream music is set to be a versatile and exciting one.
The new release from Bloc Party is one very in keeping with their latest album Hymns. The chirpy number with a clean and catchy guitar riff, although lacking oomph in the middle, has a strong start and end, Bloc Party are still a force to be reckoned with.
Alice Mortimer + Lois Young
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Concrete.music@uea.ac.uk
Live Review: Sundara Karma
(with support from Joy Room and FREAK) CHris Grosset
Sundara Karma are an indie outfit who have been churning out singles, touring the country and cultivating a fan base since aged eighteen. Their next project comes in the form of their debut album, Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect, due for release in 2017. The record will mark the band’s leap into a more solidified sound and their first more complete work. This seemed to have heavily influenced the band on their UK tour with their choice of supports, both of which burned very bright and very, very loudly at Norwich’s Waterfront on 28th October, building up a massive memorable energy for the headline band. The first of these acts was Joy Room. The new-to-thescene London four-piece, with only one released song thus far, hit things off with a visceral performance. The crowd, most of which had excitedly turned up close to the venues opening time at seven, took a few tracks to warm up to the band’s heavy guitar and punky vocals, but when they did the whole
venue was washed in a spirit of jumpy excitement. The second support, FREAK, hyped up the crowd even further through the use of droning rhythmical guitars and fast vocals, driving the centre crowd into a frenzy. Their main track ‘What Happened?’ provided a jumpy, somewhat Slaves-inspired jam. By the time Sundara Karma took to the venue, the room was buzzing with anticipation. From their strut onto stage it became clear that the band were trying to create a striking image, with bare leather jackets and shirtless styles. As they began their set it was notable how their instruments seemed set up to be clearly distinguishable and different from the support’s blur, developing, and even giving a more sophisticated air to the band. Between highlight songs; ‘A Young Understanding’ and ‘Flame’, each of which brought a different vibe to the jumping crowd, Sundara Karma actively
Dom Whiffen Around The World Kings of Leon Upbeat indie in a vein not dissimilar to their other efforts over the last couple of years, though this is certainly no bad thing. The clarinet in the verses invokes funkier vibes than one might expect from KoL, and subtly keeps things fresh.
encouraged their excited beth ramsay audience to try to get on Whiteout stage and crowd surf. In Warpaint their next few songs the bouncers were busy with moshers trying to hurdle the barriers while the band we clearly lost in their music, culminating in their smash-hit ‘Loveblood’. Being such a young band on the verge of likely large success, it was clear throughout the set that they were loving the persona of being in a rock band. Although a passion for music was also clear, it’s always a worry that the increasing popularity of young indie bands with young fans will result in a situation of style over substance, lapped up by young teenage fans who, so rightly, simply want to jump around at a gig focused on energy than necessarily one focused on the production and performance of quality, crafted tracks. For now, at least, the night ended on a muchdesired two song encore from all ages in the crowd, closing an energetic set that makes the promise of their debut album next year an exciting one.
Kicking off their latest album in style, Warpaint once again demonstrate their talent in effortlessly pairing jangly guitar rhythms with siren-like harmonies in this atmospheric track. ‘Whiteout’ in its chaotic intensity finally manages to capture the vibrancy of their live performances. To quote the opening lyric, this is Warpaint really in their prime. 8 (circle) Bon Iver While initially the soft echoed vocals and lullabylike tone fail to seem like too much of a departure from Bon Iver’s comfort zone, ‘8 (circle)’ is a refreshing release from the band. Having struggled to shake off the romantic, folksy image projected in their debut album, this experimental, upbeat track is a welcome change.
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Concrete.music@uea.ac.uk elodie mayo
Music
misheard song lyrics
Powerful and memorable in the best of times, often painfully misheard in the worst of times. Here are some hilarious and rare cock ups I’ve compiled, so you’ll no longer be the laughing stock of your karaoke club.
eric carmen’s ‘all by myself’:
“Don’t want to be Obama’s elf ” Obvious from the title, some amateur singers still miss the mark by following their intuition. Hence proclaiming that they ‘don’t want to be Obama’s elf’.
Even Bridget Jones disappointed in you.
is
Destiny’s Child’s ‘Bug a Boo’:
“Break my knees so I can move” Now this is quite personal to me. I always thought because this song was about a clingy boyfriend, he would ‘break my knees so I can’t move’.
the Spice Girls’ ‘2 Become 1’
“I wanna make love to your baby” Now this one, I cannot blame you. But wanting to ‘make love to your baby’? I shudder the thought.
The Monkees’ I’m a Believer
“I’m gonna leave her.” The last thing someone would think in this uplifting ditty about believing in love again is ‘I’m gonna leave her’. Or even ‘I’m a Belieber’.
ABBA’s Chiquitita
“Take your teeth out tell me what’s wrong’’ This could be taken as a dentist appointment as some people would interpret the chorus as ‘Take your teeth out tell me what’s wrong’.
Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit
‘‘Here we are now, in containers’ Known for its ambiguous lyrics causing major uncertainty,
it’s no surprise that people sometimes believe that it’s ‘here we are now, in containers’. Literature students, please tell us what’s going on.
Rihanna: Stay (2013)
“I won’t chew the steak” Imagine Rihanna is hosting a tantrum based protest against meat consumption. It’s tagline? ‘I won’t chew the steak’. I’ll never hear this song the same way again. Well, there you have it. With this piece of musical wisdom, may you go forth and prosper in the realms of karaoke!
your slant on ‘hallelujah’ Image by Niamh Jones
eve mathews “I have always interpreted Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ to be about the breakdown of a relationship, which is evidentfrom the opening verse, where Buckley notes “you don’t really care for music, do you?” The irony of this part stands out to me, after all, Buckley (or at least Leonard Cohen, who wrote the original version) is expressing his heartbreak over someone who doesn’t care for music through the medium of music, which I feel highlights their flawed relationship. However, I think the heartbreak of Buckley’s version is summarised for me in the third and final verse, where love is repeatedly referred to as a “cold” and “broken hallelujah”. Buckley’s stripped back instrumentation with only his guitar leaves his vocals intimate and soulful, leaving his cries of “Hallelujah” to be sung just how the lyrics describe them: cold and broken, much like the love he has lost.”
“From the opening sigh, you can tell that Jeff Buckley’s rendition of ‘Hallelujah’ is not going to be an uplifting listening experience. Its evident resignation is rather more indicative of a song that could easily act as a soundtrack for the lonely, the heart-broken, or the forsaken. The song could represent a battle with belief in God. Certainly the gradual move from David’s psalmwriting in the first verse to the doubtful ‘Maybe there’s a God above’ in the last verse suggests this. Indeed, the damning appraisal awarded to the concept of love itself spits brazenly in the face of the Christian notion of a loving God. In Buckley’s hands, the refrain becomes increasingly bitter, mocking the idea that love is something to be sought after and upheld. But this barely scratches the surface. ‘Hallelujah’ provides a perfect centerpiece fo the album, binding together the pain and frustration that permeates the rest of the work, representing every facet of loneliness.”
ben charles